Contagious bird flu confirmed at chicken farm

South Korea said yesterday it had confirmed a case of a highly contagious type of bird flu, which can be deadly to humans, at a chicken farm near Seoul. "We have confirmed highly contagious avian influenza, known as H5N1, in chickens," an Agriculture Ministry official said.

Since early December about 21,000 chickens have died at the farm, which is about 80 kilometres south-east of Seoul. As a precaution, the official said, authorities had now destroyed the remaining 5000 chickens there.

In rare instances strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza can be lethal to humans, as well as devastating for poultry. The H5N1 strain killed six people in Hong Kong in 1997 and 1998.

South Korea's poultry industry has 100 million chickens mainly for local consumption. Since 1996, South Korea has only reported cases of low pathogenic avian influenza. The ministry said it was monitoring farms within a 10 kilometre radius of the farm.